Legislators want to use state funding to assist LGBT people in Minnesota who have relocated, especially those from states that prohibit gender-affirming treatments for minors.
Minnesota passed regulations last year that prevent other states from prosecuting parents in Minnesota who assist their children with access to medications known as gender-affirming treatment, such as puberty-blocking hormones.
The move to create the state as a “transgender refuge” came as many other states, including some of Minnesota’s neighbors, banned the therapies, spurring some people to move.
Then, a bill sponsored by Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul, the state’s first transgender woman lawmaker, may provide Minneapolis LGBT volunteer PFund Foundation $1 million to assist the newcomers. Despite the fact that the discussion has mostly focused on transgender people, the cash is generally for LGBTQ+ families.
In 19 states, testosterone replacements and surgeries that are used to treat gender dysphoria, where a person’s heart’s gender characteristics do not match their gender identity, are prohibited for youth use. In some of those states, providing care to anyone under 18 could be a criminal offense.
Organizations like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics oppose meddling with procedures. Republicans, religious groups, and other critics say juveniles are too young to make informed decisions about such solutions.
Second hearing
Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, DFL-Roseville, DFL-Roseville, said Finke’s bill would help entice workers to Minnesota and support families who have uprooted their lives to get away from stringent policies. Its second hearing took place last week in the House Workforce Development Committee.
Many people don’t realize how dire it is in this country right now, she said if you are not close friends or family with someone who has a child who is trans. It is crucial that we do everything to help those people and ensure that they have the tools they need to succeed when they arrive in Minnesota.
It’s not totally clear how many people have moved to Minnesota to get trans medication or for other LGBT privileges, such as a minor’s restrictions on treatments to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
However, according to PFund Executive Director Aaron Zimmerman, his organization has tracked down about 150 people and families who have relocated to Minnesota since the refugee bill was passed last year. Of those, 89% have relocated for better access to gender-affirming care.
He told the House Workforce Development Committee, “We’ve seen firsthand that people from all over the country are moving here to seek safety, refuge, and a better life for themselves and their children.”
Before the “trans refuge” bill was enacted last year, providers of transgender medicine already had long queues of patients, said Dr. Angela Kade Goepferd, director of Gender Health at Children’s Minnesota, a frequent testifier on transgender issues at the Capitol.
What would $1 million pay for
The nonprofit would use the money to support the state’s “gender-affirming care workforce” by providing funding to transgender patient health care facilities if the state provided $1 million to PFund.
Over the next two years, PFund anticipates having funding to hire seven specialists who could assist in providing services like medication and counseling to about 250 patients each month. According to advocates, Minnesota could be home to more gender health specialists.
The bill would also help newcomers get established in the workforce, according to Zimmerman, despite previous funding for health care.
According to Zimmerman, who noted PFund is well-positioned to do the work because it is an established nonprofit that has monitored new arrivals, “Funds from this bill will be used to provide wrap-around services that help individuals get job-ready, create pathways out of poverty, and address the many disparities that prevent LGBTQ+ people from achieving economic security.”
GOP reaction
When the state has broader public health and workforce needs, House Republicans raised concerns about the bill’s appropriation of $1 million in state funding for a select group of people. Rep. Dave Baker, R-Willmar, described it as “quite an interesting bill” and said he had trouble understanding why it was before the Workforce Development Committee when it came to medical support.
He also noted that last year’s “trans refuge” bill is still a new policy, the implications of which are yet to be fully seen by the state.
“A million dollars is a lot of money,” said Baker. The ink is still very much getting its head around for Minnesotans, according to the statement from last year’s bill.
Finke, who claimed the bill directly affects the workforce as it addresses preparing newcomers for employment in a new state, claimed that the money will help the more than 100 families and individuals who have relocated to the state.
What’s next?
Approval of $1 million for PFund to assist LGBT newcomers from the Minnesota Legislature is likely to result from a larger workforce bill that is anticipated to pass later this spring.
The House Workforce Development Committee moved last week to prevent the bill from being included in a larger omnibus
